Letter to the Editor of the Pioneer Press

The following is the text of a letter I submitted to the Pioneer Press. They did not publish it, but published three others on the same subject, written by school teachers.

"I am disappointed in the Saint Paul School Board’s decision to end the contract with the Saint Paul Police Department for School Resource Officers as reported by Josh Verges in your June 24 edition. I believe the decision is based on a misreading of political signals.

First, they failed to recognize that the Saint Paul Police Department is exceptional. It is not a run of the mill department. By lumping all Police Departments together and stereotyping them they are doing a disservice to their students. Judging from board member Allen’s quote they appear to equate the presence of an officer with an increase in trauma. To the contrary, having a friendly officer nearby allows the students to relax a bit about the safety of their environment.

Second, they are ignoring the input of their pupils and the principals of their schools. Ninety-six percent of St. Paul High School juniors said last year that it was a “good idea” to have an officer present in the school. Principals of the seven high schools with officers assigned also support the program.

Third, following the lead of districts like Winona and Minneapolis has the priority turned upside down. If anything, Minneapolis could learn a few things by studying the Saint Paul Police Department. I hope the school board will reconsider this erroneous decision."

SPPD

Each cohort of the Saint Paul Police Department’s (SPPD) training academy designs their own t-shirt. This is the one from the academy Mark was in. I am proud of his participation in it. He worked long and hard to get there. 

He already had a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree and several years of experience as a Child Protection Worker and had to start over where a high school graduate would start to become a police officer. There were several years of basic law enforcement skills training with no promise of employment. We were all excited when he subsequently was selected for the SPPD academy. The other students referred to him as the old man. But he stayed focused and he met his goal.

You may know that I did an earlier blog here about my Black Lives Matter t-shirt. The beauty of it all is that there is no contradiction. If you throw out the stereotypes of people who wear such shirts, the sentiments are very much in concert.

We also have a thin blue line sticker on the back window of our van. The police are indeed a thin blue line between us and total chaos. I love the SPPD and their current chief. The Saint Paul department is widely recognized as the best in the state, Minneapolis included.

When they were doing the background investigation to approve Mark’s hiring, a fellow came by to talk with Charlene and me. One of his questions was why we thought Mark wanted to be a police officer. I told him that Mark had always wanted to drive fast and make a lot of noise. There is more truth than joke in that explanation. But I did tell him the rest of the story. Mark wanted to be the friendly cop on the neighborhood beat that everyone knows and loves. The one who settles disagreements and makes peace. 

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Matthew 5:9